Can compressor



Nov. 4, 1952 o. SCHEER ET AL CAN COMPRESSOR Filed Aug. 20", 1949 WHHIWI' WW .H T MSDR A NGE v OE WMRHPHU m A HZ My? LE WAL lllllllalllllLl Patented Nov. 4, 1952 CAN COlVIPRESSOR Lester 0. Scheer, William D. Tomlinson, and Albert Trogdon, Union City, Tenn.

Application August 20, 1949, Serial No. 111,456

5 Claims.

This invention relates in general to a press for crushing containers made of sheet metal, paper, and other materials together with a container for receiving the contents of the containers and also for storing the crushed container after it leaves the press.

The invention is more particularly described asa press for crushing sheet metal containers, for example those containing oil or other liquids which may not be completely exhausted from the container when it is ordinarily emptied.

It is an object of the present invention not only to provide a receiver for the liquid which may be pressed out of the can, but also to provide a receptacle for receiving the can in its crushed condition.

An important object of the invention is to provide a horizontal type of press in which round and most other containers are located upon the horizontal axis in position for crushing and to include variable means for centering the containers to be crushed upon the axis of the press itself.

A further object of the invention is to provide a compressor, a receptacle container and a liquid storage receptacle all contained in the same metal housing cabinet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a double three-way valve inlet and outlet connected to a source of fluid pressure supply and to the opposite ends of the compressor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can compressor adapted to be mounted at its ends upon horizontal supports in a housing cabinet so that it may be removed therefrom or shifted laterally in the cabinet.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the metal housing cabinet in which the press and the container drawers are contained;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the can compressor; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly broken away for showing the drawers in the container and showing a side elevation of the can compressor mechanism.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a closed cabinet in is preferably made of sheet metal with a weatherproof rounded lid l2 hinged at one side so that the entire top of the cabinet is exposed for free access. All the bottom of the cabinet is a shallow drawer M slidable from one end thereof and adapted to receive and contain any liquid which is pressed out of or drips from the compressed cans. Above the drawer M which extends entirely across the cabinet is a larger drawer 15 which also extends the full width of the cabinet and the full length thereof. Drip openings l8 are provided in the bottom of the upper drawer l6 so that any liquid remaining in the cans or discharged therefrom will drain through the bottom of the drawer l5 and into the bottom drawer I4.

Above the drawers in the cabinet and extending transversely at each end thereof is an inwardly projecting support 2!! preferably in the form of an angle bar secured to the front and rear ends of the cabinet for supporting the compressor mechanism. The can compressor comprises a cylinder 22 having front and rear heads 24 and 26 secured thereto at intervals around the cylinder by stay bolts 28. Connected into the front or pressure end of the cylinder is a pipe connection 30 extending centrally from this end having a safety valve 82 and a three-way valve 34 therein connected to a T-fitting 36. Extending from the inner or return end of the cylinder is a pipe connection 49 having a three-way valve 42 therein and connected to the T-connection 36. A supply pipe 46 extending outwardly from the cabinet is connected to the T-fitting 36 and thus supplies fluid under pressure to either end of the cylinder depending upon which valve 3 or 42 is opened. The three-way valves are used by opening one of them to pressure and opening the other to exhaust into the atmosphere. In the third position, each valve is closed against the passage of fluid pressure through its connecting pipe.

Within the cylinder is a piston 38 and a piston rod 58 connected thereto and extending outwardly through the rear head 24 where it is connected to a pressure head 52. At the sides of the cylinder are supporting rods 54 which extend through lateral projections of the heads 24 and 26 and rearwardly from the inner end of the cylinder with the ends of these bolts connected to supporting angle bars 5% and 58 at the front and rear end respectively. These angle bars 56 and 5B are adapted to rest upon the projecting supports 20 at the front and rear of the cabinet, the angle bars 56 and 58 resting loosely upon the supports as there is no tendency of the can compressor to be disengaged therefrom even when it is in operation.

Adjacent the rear end of the supporting rods 54 is a pressure plate 6& which may be loosely supported by the rods or it may be secured to the rear angle bar 58. This plate is opposite the compressor head 52 and the supporting rods 54 are at the sides thereof so that the central space on the axis of the cylinder between the head 52 and the plate 60 is entirely open and unobstructed for receiving a relatively large can or other receptacle to be compressed thereby.

Since the pressure head 52 is moved relatively to the plate 60, the supporting rods 54 extend through recesses or openings 62 at the lateral edges of the plate 52. The portion of the supporting rods extending rearwardly from the cylinder are shown in larger diameter than the rods at the side of the cylinder and this is effected by inserting pipe sections 64 on the rear ends of the rods between the rear angle bar 58 and the rear cylinder head 26 to hold the cylinder head, the supporting angle bars and the cylinder in a compact and unitary assembly so that it may be removed or replaced as a unit from the cabinet. In order to center and accorrmodate cans or other receptacles of different sizes between the pressure head 52 and the pressure p ate $5, a pair of supporting bars are mounted below the cylinder, each having an upwardly offset portion 72 and an end portion 14. The front end of each rod has an eye 16 adapting it to be pivoted upon a cross bar 18 suspended below the front end of the cylinder upon depending bars 80 at the sides of the cylinder. The rear portion 14 of each bar is adjustable upwardly in a slot 82 in the lower edge of the pressure plate 52 so that by swinging the bar upwardly or downwardly upon their eyes 16, the bar portions '34 may be raised or lowered relative to the center line of the piston of the compression cylinder, thereby providing an adjustable and centering support for a receptacle A which may be placed upon the bar portions 1'4 in position between the compressor head 52 and the compressor plate 50. The rearwardly projecting portions of the side rods 54 covered by the sleeve 64 also serve to retain any container upon the supporting rods.

In order to adjust the position of the supporting bar 10, a crank bar 84 extends below the rods 70 and the offset crank ends are mounted in supporting straps 86 depending from the rods 54 with one end of the crank extending upwardly therefrom to provide a handle 88 to rock the crank portion 84 into engagement with the under sides of the rods 10, thus raising or lowering them and lowering the supporting portions 74 in the slots 82 of the compressor head 52 in accordance with the movement of the crank. To hold the crank 84 in any adjusted position, one or more stops 90 may be provided at the side of one rod 54 to engage the upper portion of the handle 88 and to hold it in any adjusted position, the upper end of the handle being somewhat resilient and adapted to be sprung out of such engagement.

With this construction, a can press is placed upon the rod portion 74 between the compressor head 52 and the compressor plate 60, adjusting the rod I0 and the portion 74 to the proper height to approximately center the can between the head and the plate. Fluid pressure is applied to the head end of the piston 48 by opening the forward valve 34 to admit pressure from the supply pipe 44 and at the same time the rear valve 42 is opened to exhaust from the rear end of the cylinder so that the compressor is free to act against back pressure. If the pressure is too great, the safety valve 32 will be opened.

When the can is completely compressed, pressure is relieved and the piston is returned by closing the forward three-way valve 34 against the admission of. pressure to that end of the cylinder and opening the pressure end of the cylinder to exhaust through the valve. The rear valve 42 is then operated to admit pressure from the source of supply to the rear end of the cylinder returning the piston and the pressure head 42 to the original position ready for another operation. The return of the compressor head 52 from its engagement with the press can will remove support for the can which will drop by gravity into the drawer [6 below it.

During the compression of the can, any liquid which is discharged therefrom passes to the bottom of the drawer I 6 and through the holes in the bottom of this drawer into the bottom liquid containing drawer l4. The compressor mechanism preferably occupies only a portion of the width of the cabinet and a shelf 92 may occupy the remaining portion of the width upheld at the ends by the supports 20 and if desired, the compressor mechanism may be transferred to the other side of the cabinet by removing the shelf and placing it in the location formerly occupied by the compressor. In this way, the entire bottom of the drawer [6 may be filled with the compressed cans without actually moving the cans therein. The cabinet is preferably mounted on wheels 94 so that it may be moved from one location to the other, and the compressor mechanism which is not very heavy can be reversed end for end in the cabinet if desired since the mechanism is loosely supported by the end supports 20.

The storage drawer 15 may be removed for discharging the pressed cans therefrom and the bottom drawer I4 may be withdrawn for discharging the collected liquid therefrom. In some cases, the liquid may be of value so that it can be saved, and if the liquid is of no value, it may be discharged therefrom into a drain.

While a preferred construction and arrangement has been described in some detail, it should be regarded as an illustration or example and not as a restriction or limitation of the invention as various changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A can compressor apparatus comprising a of the casing, and an interchangeable shelf loosely mounted upon the end supports to fill the space at one side of the casing when the can com-' pressing apparatus is at casing.

2. In a can compressor, an enclosing casing having a raisable top and transverse end supports extending inwardly adjacent the top, can compressing apparatus having end pieces loosely restmg upon the end supports within the casing so that the apparatus in the casing, a bottom liquid receptacle, crushed can receptacle movably mounted in the casing above the bottom liquid receptacle and having openings in the bottom liquid drippings from the into the bottom receptacle- 3. In a can compressor, a cylinder having a piston movable therein with a pressure head connected to the piston outside of one end of the cylinder, means for applying fluid pressure to either end of the cylinder, a pair'of heads for the other side of the may be moved transversely opposite ends of the cylinder, stay bolts extending through the cylinder heads, two of the side stay bolts extending beyond the cylinder head, a pressure plate secured to the outer ends of these side stay bolts beyond the cylinder head, an angle bar secured to the outer side of the pressure plate and projecting outwardly therefrom, another angle bar secured to the opposite cylinder head and projecting outwardly therefrom, the angle bars at the two opposite ends providing means for supporting the entire apparatus in a horizontal position.

4. In a can compressor, a cylinder having a piston with a piston rod. projecting from one end of the cylinder, a pressure head secured to the outer end of the piston rod, a pressure plate and means connected at the sides of the cylinder for supporting the pressure plate at a distance in front of the adjacent end of the cylinder and opposite to the pressure head, a pair of supports pivoted at the end of the cylinder remote from the pressure head and at opposite sides of a vertical plane to support a can to be compressed thereon between the pressure head, and the pressure plate, the rods extending parallel to the axis of the piston rod, and means for raising and lowering the rods to accommodate cans of difierent sizes and to substantially center them between the pressure head and the pressure plate.

5. A can compressor apparatus, comprising a cylinder with a piston therein and a piston rod extending to the outside of one end of the cylinder, a pressure head secured to the outer end of the piston rod, a pressure plate and means for supporting it from the sides of the cylinder in advance of the pressure head, means for adjusting the position of a can to be compressed between the pressure head and the pressure plate for compression thereby, and. means to direct fluid under pressure to either end of the cylinder, said means comprising a common supply pipe connected to both ends of the cylinder, a three-way valve in each pipe line from the common supply and a safety valve in the pipe line which applies pressure -to compress the cans.

L. O. SCHEER.

WM. D. TOMLINSON.

AL. TROGDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 521,142 Wood Jan. 2, 1894 969,720 Pickett Sept. 6,1910

1,231,628 Lehr July 3, 1917 1,840,051 Nenninger Jan. 5, 1932 1,998,263 Townsend Apr. 16, 1935 2,150,812 Aukerman Mar. 14, 1939 2,320,159 Smith May 25, 1943 2,322,129 Hawkins June 15, 1943 

